Stuart Gerson Named a "Litigator of the Week" by The American Lawyer

Our Litigators of the Week are Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker & Green; Richard Mancino of Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Anton Metlitsky of O’Melveny & Myers, who notched a major win in Texas. Working pro bono, the trio teamed up to challenge President Trump’s bid to secure border wall funding by declaring a national emergency.

On Oct. 11, U.S. District Judge David Briones in El Paso ruled that the plaintiffs had standing to challenge the president’s action, and that the administration’s use of funds to build a border wall violated the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

Gerson, Mancino and Metlitsky discussed the case with Lit Daily.

Lit Daily:  Who are your clients and how did you get involved in the case?

Stuart Gerson:  Our clients are the County of El Paso, Texas, a community that a section of the border wall would, if completed, go through, and the Border Network for Human Rights, an organization that promotes humane immigration policies and whose members are directly affected by the president’s proclamation. 

I got involved in the case at the request of Protect Democracy, one of the public interest groups that initially connected with our clients. I was selected as an experienced trial and appellate litigator and former government official with well-known right-of-center views. Among the others working on the case, [Professor] Larry Tribe offered great skills and experience and has well-known liberal views. It was important that our team be seen as non-partisan, dedicated to the constitution and the rule of law, and not acting for political reasons.